<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Grey Skies, Black Tides by Incarnadine92</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26397121">Grey Skies, Black Tides</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Incarnadine92/pseuds/Incarnadine92'>Incarnadine92</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:34:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,884</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26397121</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Incarnadine92/pseuds/Incarnadine92</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A not-quite-AU set after the Volume 3 Finale - the Fall of Beacon. This story tells the tale of four girls trying to survive and rebuild when everything has been taken from them. Being hosted simultaneously on FFNet</p><p>[[ON HIATUS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE]]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <strong>Dramatis Personae</strong>
  </em>
</p>
<p>Team PEPR</p>
<p>Parker Korrah</p>
<p>Eryn Garnett</p>
<p>Piper Korrah</p>
<p>Riley Ciblix</p>
<p>Team PEAR [Disbanded]</p>
<p>Parker Korrah [Former]</p>
<p>Eryn Garnett [Former]</p>
<p>Arcin Rahm [Deceased]</p>
<p>Riley Ciblix [Former]</p>
<p>Team CLPO [Disbanded]</p>
<p>Corbin Wrex [Deceased]</p>
<p>Lily Bitts [Deceased]</p>
<p>Piper Korrah [Former]</p>
<p>Oliver Dent [Deceased]</p>
<p>Solo Hunters &amp; Huntresses</p>
<p>Tegan Ash</p>
<p>Ryo Etlin</p>
<p>Cernos Ymir</p>
<p>***^v^***</p>
<p>Name: Parker Korrah</p>
<p>Age: Seventeen</p>
<p>Gender: Female</p>
<p>Species: Human</p>
<p>Height/Weight: 5'9" 140 lbs.</p>
<p>Appearance: Slightly pale skin, shoulder length auburn hair typically kept in a ponytail so it stays out of her way, and honey-brown eyes. Dresses in a pair of boot-cut jeans and a red tank top when not in combat. Combat attire consists of a medieval-themed suit of gunmetal-grey plate armor, with purple accents.</p>
<p>Weapon: <strong>Stormbreak</strong>. A transforming battle-axe/semi-automatic marksman's rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm cartridge. Whether in axe form or rifle form, User has a set of slings on the back of her armor to stow this weapon and its ammunition.</p>
<p>Semblance: <strong>Noble Fury</strong>. When activated, causes the user to send out a 'pulse' that sends a challenge to their foes and draws their attention. The more that respond to this call, the more force the user can put into blows with their weapon, and the more pain they can resist.</p>
<p>Name: Eryn Garnett</p>
<p>Age: Eighteen</p>
<p>Gender: Female</p>
<p>Species: Fox Faunus</p>
<p>Trait: Fox ears</p>
<p>Height/Weight: 5'7" 120 lbs.</p>
<p>Appearance: Lightly tanned skin, mint-green chin length hair, and golden-orange eyes. Out of combat typically wears shorts and an overly large blue hoodie. In combat wears a set of light-and-medium grey studded-leather armor, underneath a black archer's cloak.</p>
<p>Weapon: <strong>Moonlight</strong>. A compound bow with a 75 pound draw weight, whose arms are bladed for use in close-range melee combat. User has a bow sling to store the bow on her back, and a quiver of arrows mounted to each thigh.</p>
<p>Semblance: <strong>Foresight</strong>. Allows the user to see various possible paths the future will hold, though normally no more than five to ten seconds into the future. Helps the user form short-term, immediate strategies, and line up the perfect shot - though outside influences may very easily disrupt or change the possibilities shown.</p>
<p>Name: Piper Korrah</p>
<p>Age: Seventeen</p>
<p>Gender: Female</p>
<p>Species: Human</p>
<p>Height/Weight: 5'9" 130 lbs.</p>
<p>Appearance: Slightly more pale than her twin sister, has her mahogany hair cut in a pixie-style, and has amber eyes. Out of combat prefers to dress in tee shirts and form fitting jeans. In combat wears 'biker' clothing consisting of leather pants, and an accompanying jacket with several zippered pockets, a stud-covered left shoulder, and ammo belts hanging from her hips.</p>
<p>Weapons: <strong>Tranquility</strong>. A katana with a slightly less pronounced curve to the blade, to better allow it to be drawn quickly. <strong>Wrath &amp; Ruin</strong>. Paired revolvers chambered for the 12.7x41mmSR cartridge. Tranquility's sheath is affixed to the rear of the User's right shoulder, while Wrath &amp; Ruin are stored at the base of the User's spine in crossed holsters</p>
<p>Semblance: <strong>Blink</strong>. Allows the user to burst themselves in any direction, with such speed that the eye cannot follow. Though this may appear to be teleportation, it is not. Has an effective range of ten metres. Can be used three times with no ill effects. Further usage puts excessive strain on the body, causing such effects as nosebleeds, migraines, fainting spells, and internal damage.</p>
<p>Name: Riley Ciblix</p>
<p>Age: Eighteen</p>
<p>Gender: Female</p>
<p>Species: Human</p>
<p>Height/Weight: 5'4" 145 lbs.</p>
<p>Appearance: Ever-so-slightly sunkissed skin, hip length strawberry-red hair is kept in a tight braid that hangs just below her shoulders, deep blue eyes, and moderately freckled cheeks. Out of combat wears whatever is clean and available, as she has no real style preference. In combat wears a breastplate, gauntlets, vambraces and sabatons fashioned out of the same hardened wood material as her weapon, over top of her normal clothing.</p>
<p>Weapon: <strong>Evergreen</strong>. A staff that, while made of wood, has been manipulated by the User's semblance to be tougher than the hardest metals. Also serves as an aura focus to assist the User with controlling their semblance. Though the User prefers to use the staff as a walking stick, it can be shrunk down and stored on the lower back</p>
<p>Semblance: <strong>Arcane Botany</strong>. User infuses seeds and plants with their aura and Dust augments to control them. Vine whips and spears can be created and used for ranged attacks, while vibrant flowers can be sown and quickly matured. These flowers produce a pollen and aroma that can have varying beneficial effects to any who are near them. User can also use their semblance to grow plants which may hinder their opponents, such as restraining vines or thorn fields.</p>
<p>Name: Tegan Ash</p>
<p>Age: 27</p>
<p>Gender: Female</p>
<p>Species: Otter Faunus</p>
<p>Trait: Webbed fingers</p>
<p>Height/Weight: 5'1" 130 Lbs.</p>
<p>Appearance: Tanned skin, shoulder length black hair is kept bobby-pinned so as not to obstruct her in combat, and dull orange eyes. Out of combat wears a Beacon professor's outfit, in combat wears a set of 'borrowed' Vale military combat fatigues and matching body armor</p>
<p>Weapon: <strong>Grievous Harm</strong>. A pair of midnight-black padded greaves and sabatons designed with metal front plates to protect the user's lower legs and feet while in combat. User's personal crest is embossed on the front of each plate</p>
<p>Semblance: <strong>Leapfrog</strong>. User gains a burst of speed and power for a limited time when vaulting over objects and creatures.</p>
<p>Name: Ryo Etlin</p>
<p>Age: 35</p>
<p>Gender: Male</p>
<p>Species: Human</p>
<p>Height/Weight: 6'2" 160 Lbs.</p>
<p>Appearance: Moderately pale skin, short and shaggy black hair, blue eyes. Has a scar running across the nose and left cheek. Out of combat wears a Signal professor's uniform, in combat wears simple chest and arm coverings over their uniform</p>
<p>Weapon: <strong>Bags of Wonder</strong>. A box pouch affixed to the right thigh, and a regular pouch affixed to the lower back. User can pull small throwing weapons created from whatever type of dust was last deposited in them out of the bag.</p>
<p>Semblance: <strong>Analytics</strong>. User is able to identify and exploit pinpoint weaknesses with greater speed and precision than would otherwise be possible</p>
<p>Name: Cernos Ymir</p>
<p>Age: 26</p>
<p>Gender: Male</p>
<p>Species: Horse Faunus</p>
<p>Trait: Tail</p>
<p>Height/Weight: 5'10" 120 Lbs.</p>
<p>Appearance: Brown shoulder length hair is kept in a simple ponytail, matching the color of his lower tail. Brown eyes and slightly pale skin. Out of combat wears a Signal professor's uniform, in combat wears a set of combat armor over his uniform.</p>
<p>Weapon: <strong>Hammer &amp; Anvil</strong>. A pair of matching short-hafted warhammers, the head of each is imbued with fire dust and has a matching sigil inscribed on the face of it</p>
<p>Semblance: <strong>Signal Fire</strong>. User channels their aura skywards, creating a blindingly bright flare that can be seen clearly for upwards of two miles. Invisible to the Creatures of Grimm, but nigh impossible to ignore for humans and faunus</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <strong>A/N: So! This is the cast list for my OC story set right after the Fall of Beacon. Fair warning to you all - I have </strong>
  </em>
  <em>
    <strong>
      <span>not</span>
    </strong>
  </em>
  <em>
    <strong> read After the Fall and Before the Dawn. Some of my accounts here may conflict with the established canon. Also, I'm going to try and keep things involving canon characters to a minimum, as I want to focus on my own people. Enjoy!</strong>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Prologue: Calamity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>'<em>Breathe, Piper.'</em> The huntress thought to herself, firing her revolvers into the sea of white-accented black bodies surging through the streets. '<em>Five, three, six. Reload. Four, five, one, six, reload.'</em> Keeping track of the ammunition she had remaining in each gun was not only practical, and second nature, but it helped keep Piper somewhat calm when everything was going wrong.</p>
<p>"North! Nine o' clock, high!" She heard Corbin - the leader of team CLPO - call out, and Piper responded. Normally, aerial targets were Oliver's purview, but with the boy who normally performed their support functions currently being gnawed on by an Ursa, it fell to her. Though they hadn't seen the speech given by Cinder Fall themselves, the effects of it were felt by the entire city of Vale almost immediately afterwards. Whether it was planned this way or not, Piper didn't believe she would ever know, but that hardly mattered at the moment.</p>
<p>As the guns fired and the world crashed down around her, Piper tried to not think. <em>Don't think about the Grimm running through the streets. Don't think about PEAR dealing with White Fang near the mall. Don't think about the teeth smashing through Oli's aura. Don't think, don't think don't thi-</em></p>
<p>"LILY!" Piper screamed, though her voice was drowned out by the howls of Grimm creatures, and Lily's own horrified anguish. There were too many of them. Just too many.. Even with all of them firing on all cylinders and working in perfect harmony, CLPO just didn't have the ability to stop the tidal wave of Grimm they were facing. Hell, they could barely put a scratch in their numbers, much less a dent.</p>
<p>Piper wept as she holstered Wrath &amp; Ruin, watching helplessly as the claws of a Grimm raked through her best friend's stomach. That sight, coming just minutes after another of her teammates saw fangs grind through his shoulder and into his chest, would have been enough to make even seasoned Hunters and Huntresses falter - but Piper and her classmates were only second year Beacon students.</p>
<p>She was shaken to her core, but years of Signal and Beacon lessons being drilled in her head probably saved her life. Gripping Tranquility's intricately cloth-wrapped hilt, Piper activated her semblance and dashed forwards. It was a futile effort at best, but she had to try and save Lily. For the short distance that her speed could be used, Piper had clocked in as the fastest at Beacon academy, even faster than that new girl that Ozpin had let in early. She could only go so far, though, and pushing herself too hard was risky at best - fatal at worst.</p>
<p>Her speed, combined with the singing edge of her blade carving the Grimm around Lily's faltering form to black-mist ribbons, meant that Piper had cleared an area of about three metres around her friend almost in an instant. Yet, it wasn't enough. Piper knew that Lily was gone as soon as she laid eyes on her friend's face. "No.. No, not you too." Piper choked out, shaking the limp girl's shoulder with quivering hands. The light in her friend's eyes was already faded, the hand that until seconds ago was clutching her stomach to try and keep her organs inside her body was slack at her side.</p>
<p>"PIPER!" She heard Corbin yell, as though from a mile away. "PIPER WE HAVE TO GO!" Still, Piper stayed kneeling. With her own eyes deadened by loss and grief, the girl tilted her grimy face to the sky. '<em>Why doesn't this bother me..?</em>' Piper thought, as the two Creeps above her descended in slow motion. Their claws were stained red, and Piper's last thought was that maybe it was Oli or Lily who was being worn on their carapaces.</p>
<p>But then, a burst of flame scattered the pair into ashes, and what felt like a freight train crashed into her from behind. "Damnit, Piper!" She heard Corbin shout. When Piper looked up at him, she could see that her team leader was keeping the Grimm at bay with his paired swords - but only barely. "They're gone, damnit! Stay with me!" He said through gritted teeth. Shaking her head to clear away the defeatist fog that had settled on it, Piper rose. He was right. Mourning the dead could come later, but it could only come if they made it out alive.</p>
<p>"I-I'm with you! I'm sorry." She replied sadly, sheathing Tranquility to draw Wrath and Ruin again. As Corbin hacked and slashed, Piper fired in the places he ducked away from. His blades kept the Grimm's claws from reaching her, while her bullets ensured that none of the massing creatures could hit him in the back.</p>
<p>"It's fine - I get it. We'll talk later though. Alley, three metres left. If we reach it we can probably break into one of these apartment buildings. Hold up until we see an opening." Corbin said, and Piper envied his apparent calm. In truth, though, he was terrified. His friends were dying or dead, communications weren't getting through to anyone, and the only people he could rely on right then were Piper and himself.</p>
<p>The pair had joked before about how it would be 'them against the world' one day - the kind of idle flirting that more students than not got up to in school. But no one imagined it would be like this. Not with them standing at death's door and the reaper reaching out to grab them by the throat from the other side. "I'll clear, you follow." Piper answered with a nod.</p>
<p>With her focus (somewhat) restored, Wrath and Ruin returned to her waist with a little more speed and precision than Piper had been able to muster a few minutes ago. As Tranquility sang once more, opening a path to the alley Corbin had his eye on, her team leader followed Piper on her mad dash. For the moment, her semblance was functionally unusable. Piper had relied on it too much already, and the girl could feel an all-too-familiar migraine coming on. So, she wove in between her foes at the comparatively glacially slow pace of normal combat, reducing the beasts before her to ash with each flick of her wrist.</p>
<p>"Window!" Corbin called, careening around the corner after his only surviving teammate. Piper nodded, and ducked down. When she felt Corbin's boot on her shoulder, the tired student shot herself upwards to boost CLPO's leader skywards. With a burst of flame from his gauntlet followed by a heavy punch, Corbin broke through the window before pulling himself through. "Ready!" He shouted back down, extending a hand. Piper didn't need any more of an invitation, and jumped as high as she could. If it didn't mean a nosebleed, she would have just dashed up the wall, but as it was, she had to settle for just barely being able to grasp Corbing by the wrist. After hauling her through the window, Piper took a second to suck in a breath and wipe the shattered glass from her clothing.</p>
<p>"We've gotta try and make it to PEAR." Piper huffed, panting, with her hands on her knees. "I don't think Pa-"</p>
<p>"Your sister can handle herself." Corbin said firmly. Once more, he extended his hand to her, and Piper let herself be pulled upright. "We have to trust that she and the others are alright. Right now, we need to figure out what the hell is going on and what we're going to do next."</p>
<p>"Yeah.. Yeah, let's go." Piper breathed out, setting off with her leader to search for a fortifiable position in the apartment building.</p>
<p>***^v^***</p>
<p>"Keep trying!" Parker shouted, ducking under the swipe of a short sword, swung by a member of the White Fang before Stormbreak arced upwards. The blade of her axe sank deep into the man's chest, where it remained for a second as the cat faunus died. "What was Ash trying to say, anyways?" She asked, shaking the corpse free of Stormbreak's blade</p>
<p>"Couldn't really tell." Arcin yelled back with a grunt. The tall boy swayed to the side away from a charging faunus before his spiked maul came up to bat her aside. "All I could really hear between the static and all of this shit was '-eum'."</p>
<p>"What? Museum, maybe?" Parker heard Eryn question. The two girls were standing in front of a car that had driven up on the sidewalk and crashed into the stone steps leading to a local gym. Arcin was crouched behind the wrecked vehicle, fiddling with his scroll to try and get ahold of someone. Anyone, really. The final member of Team PEAR, Riley, was standing precariously on top of the car's hood. Her eyes were shut tight, hands gripping Evergreen tight, as she channeled her aura down into the slowly sprouting plants around them.</p>
<p>The spreading spores and pollen from her dust-infused plants was probably what was keeping them all alive - as well as hindering the White Fang advance on them. But, controlling this many things at once required a lot of focus, and so the rest of her team formed a triangle around her to keep her safe.</p>
<p>"Doubt it. If they're talking about a rendezvous or a HVT, the only museum even close to us is in the western part of the city. Way too far to call us out, plus, we're students." Parker pointed out. As she ducked back and Eryn rotated in, Parker clicked a hidden trigger on her axe's haft, transforming it into its rifle configuration. Another half-second elapsed, and then, the rifle barked righteous fury into the White Fang lines.</p>
<p>"Th-the only other thing is - shit!" Parker heard Riley squeak out. Instinctively, she jumped backwards and extended a hand. With her right hand still on the rifle's grip, Parker fired wildly at the encroaching terrorists while her left grabbed her teammates cloak seconds before she hit the asphalt. "Thanks, Parker.." She groaned, and Parker let Riley go so she could return fire while the startled girl scrambled to cover.</p>
<p>"Any time. Botany's done enough for now, I need you to keep those gunners pinned with Eryn. Arcin and I will focus on the chargers." PEAR's leader instructed, and her team moved with practiced fluidity.</p>
<p>"Got it!" "Done." "Right!" The others all answered in unison, and then they all busied themselves with their assigned tasks. "But, like I was saying." Riley continued, staring with a calm focus as she directed some 'spare' plant roots she'd created forwards to swipe at and harass a White Fang member brandishing a fast-firing submachine gun. "The only other word that makes sense is 'mausoleum'. The one on forty-second street?"</p>
<p>"Hey, I got something!" Arcin shouted, and ducked back to try and listen to whoever he had gotten a hold of through his scroll. "It's Corbin, he's with your sister! Comin' at 'cha." He said, and tossed his hand-held in Parker's direction.</p>
<p>"Corbin? What the hell is going on? Where are you guys?!" Parker barked into the scroll. Though Riley's forte was the use of her semblance, she dutifully stepped forwards so Parker could provide covering fire and try to speak to her fellow team leader.</p>
<p>The connection was filled with pops and static, and each of the two speaking could hear the other fade in and out. "<em>Hell if I know - what's your status?"</em> Parker heard, and grimaced as her bullets found the stomach and shoulder of a man brandishing a Dust-damned rocket launcher.</p>
<p>"Full strength, pinned by the mall. Arcin got through, kinda, to Ash earlier - we think she mentioned the mausoleum. Gonna try to make our way there." Parker informed Corbin.</p>
<p>"<em>Sounds good - good luck to you. It's.. It's just me and Piper now."</em> Parker's stomach sank at that news, but she stayed quiet, waiting for Corbin to hopefully say he was just joking. Or to say it was for a different reason than the obvious one. "<em>Oliver and Lily didn't make it. We'll push towards the mausoleum.</em>"</p>
<p>***^v^***</p>
<p>"<em>Yeah, stay sa- Arcin!"</em> Corbin heard Parker yell, and through the anguish in her voice - hauntingly identical to Piper's - he could guess what just happened. He looked sadly over at the girl as the call dropped. "PEAR is moving towards the mausoleum, they got part of a message from Professor Ash mentioning it. I.. I think they just lost Rahm, though."</p>
<p>"Fuck, not him too.." Piper said mournfully. She was covering the door of a storage room that they'd ducked into with Wrath and Ruin while Corbin fought to get in contact with someone. She hung her head for a second, before looking up with a steely gaze. Though.. Corbin could see the anguish lurking deep in her soul, despite her trying to put on a brave face.</p>
<p>"We need to move." Corbin said, after a few moments of silence. "See if we can link up with any other teams, help out any people we see still on the streets.. And, hope for the best, I guess." It wasn't much of a plan, but they weren't much of a team any more. Just two students trying to survive.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I'll lead - I know the way. I hope she's alright.." Piper said softly, pushing the door open and peering out. The sounds of combat and the smells and sound of terror still permeated the streets surrounding the building, but.. It sounded as if the Grimm were being pushed back by something. "It's quieter than before." Piper mused, and Corbin nodded.</p>
<p>"Definitely, but don't let your guard down. Can you use your semblance if you have to?" He asked. After taking a second to focus on herself and her aura, Piper shrugged - which was not what Corbin was looking to see from his teammate.</p>
<p>"It won't kill me if I do." She answered dryly. "But, I'll have to be careful. The migraine is going away, but if I push it, it'll come back."</p>
<p>"Right. Wait for my signal, then. Gonna have to make it count." With a grim nod, Piper made her way out into the street. Shockingly, the Grimm were retreating. Well, 'fleeing' would be a more accurate term, she supposed. "What the hell.." Corbin murmured.</p>
<p>"When was the last time you saw Grimm run from anything?" Piper asked, though it was mostly rhetorical. The Creatures of Grimm did not fall back, they did not retreat. The only thing they knew how to do was to advance with unrelenting aggression.</p>
<p>Corbin and Piper got their answer to the question of 'why' soon, as an Atlesian Paladin - and an accompanying squad of six Knights - rounded the corner. "That explains it." Corbin said to his partner with a shrug, and started to jog over to the advancing robots with Piper in tow.</p>
<p>"Hey! Where have you guys been?! Half of the damn city is lost already!" The team leader said angrily. "Two of us are <em>dead</em>, and I don't know how many others are too. What the hell?!" As Corbin got closer, still berating the Atlesian forces, Piper slowed cautiously to a halt.</p>
<p>"Hey, Cor.." She said nervously, furrowing her brow as the squad of robots stopped their march. The Paladin was hanging back a little, and was it her imagination, or did Piper see the Paladin start to twitch slightly. "I don't like this." Piper continued.</p>
<p>Her suspicions were proven correct when the Knights started twitching too, though by the time either of the student's really realized what was happening it was already too late. The blue lights accenting the robot's armor turned blood red, and Piper did <em>not</em> like the look of that.</p>
<p>"What the fu-" Was all that Corbin managed to get out before all hell broke loose. With his aura still partially drained from the constant fighting and exhaustion, Corbin's shield barely withstood the fusillade from the Knights that came his way, and he had absolutely no chance against the Paladin's rockets.</p>
<p>"NO!" Piper screamed, as Corbin's body was engulfed in flames. A second later, he was tossed backwards by the shockwave, battered, broken, and shredded. With her eyes near blinded by tears, Piper shot forwards with the last uses of Blink that she could manage. Though it triggered a nosebleed, Piper snatched Corbin up and slammed through a doorway that she saw nearby.</p>
<p>Piper didn't care what was on the other side of the doorway. It didn't matter. All that mattered right then was keeping them both alive. Like with Lily and Oliver, though, she knew it was probably too late. Looking around frantically, Piper made her way through door after door until she found what looked like some sort of employee break room.</p>
<p>'<em>Dust, I don't even know where I am..</em>' Piper thought to herself, as she laid Corbin down on a couch. "H-hold on.. I'll give you some of my aura. You're going to be fine." Piper choked out, hovering her hands an inch above Corbin's chest. A faint pink glow flickered to life in her palms, then cascaded down over her teammate's broken form.</p>
<p>Corbin groaned, and his breathing grew raspy under her. Though Piper was doing her best - as with most things that day - it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough. Horrific burns covered the exposed parts of his skin, his left arm was bent in several ways so unnatural that it looked more like a snake than an arm. The worst injuries by far were to Corbin's legs, though. Below the knee they were simply.. Gone. Even if Piper couldn't mend Corbin's body, she hoped that she could at least take some of the pain away before the end.</p>
<p>"Pi.. You gotta go." Piper heard Corbin wheeze. "'S too late for me." Fresh tears dropped down onto the backs of her hands as he spoke. His heat-cracked skin blistered and bled as the pain made him grimace.</p>
<p>"Not without you. I can't go alone, I-I'll never make it." Piper wept softly. "Please don't leave me. Wh..What about the movie on Friday?" She could have sworn that she saw Corbin grin at that, and barely resisted the urge to thump her hand down into his chest.</p>
<p>"You'll just have to see it without me 'n tell me how it is." Corbin laughed hoarsely. "Find your sister. Get to PEAR at the mausoleum - probably your only shot. <em>Promise</em> me, Pi." Though his voice was getting weaker with each breath, his words held the same conviction and strength that had earned him the spot as their team captain.</p>
<p>"I will." Piper croaked out. Corbin didn't talk any more after that, but Piper refused to leave until she heard the gentle wheeze of his breathing slow to a stop. Though Piper dearly wanted to stay by his side, just waiting for the end to claim her too - she had a promise to keep. Besides, she couldn't leave Parker alone too. Despite being on different teams, the twins were as thick as thieves and closer than two peas in a pod.</p>
<p>Piper took a second to close her last teammates eyes, before rising on shaky and unsteady legs to take stock of her situation. If she'd had the luxury of more time, the student would have rested to help regain her aura and the use of her semblance. The reality of Piper's situation, though, was that all she really had time to do was wipe the blood from her lips and chin before continuing on.</p>
<p>Checking her pockets, Piper grimaced as she saw the sorry state of her ammunition supply. "Thirty-six rounds.. Gotta be careful." She murmured. After making sure that Wrath and Ruin were fully loaded, and Tranquility was ready to be drawn at a moment's notice, Piper scouted around for the back door of the building she was in. Going out front where the Atlas forces still were would be tantamount to suicide, but one of the myriad alleyways that crisscrossed the city of Vale would eventually lead her to the mausoleum.</p>
<p>At least, that was her hope.</p>
<p>***^v^***</p>
<p>"Riley, let him <em>go</em>!" Parker yelled, and grabbed her teammate by the shoulder. "Arcin's gone, and if we don't keep moving, we're going to be next!" Ever since Arcin had been pinned to the car they were taking cover by with two Nevermore feathers, Riley had been trying to free him and save him - though the boy had clearly already departed.</p>
<p>While what now remained of Team PEAR had been clashing with the White Fang, a surging mass of Grimm had crashed into both of their forces. The students barely had time to react before Arcin was speared, and suddenly their tentative plan to break through the White Fang lines went up in smoke.</p>
<p>"So we should just leave him?! Wh-what if he gets eaten!" Riley protested, but was stopped in her tracks by Eryn's hand across her cheek. "W..Why?!" She yelled, whirling to face the fox-girl standing beside her.</p>
<p>"Parker's right. Yes, they might eat him. I don't want that for him either. But.. They <em>will</em> eat us if we don't get a move on. CLPO is waiting for us too, remember? Do you really want to let Piper down?" Eryn said harshly, though her tone did hold some compassion in it as well.</p>
<p>"Okay.. Just, two seconds." Riley said, and the other two girls nodded. Parker and Eryn backed in close to Riley as she knelt over Arcin's body, saying a few last goodbyes while they provided a defensive screen.</p>
<p>"Let's go." Was all that the botanist said, sniffling heavily, when she stood back up. Parker spared a moment to give Riley's shoulder a comforting squeeze before she set off at a jog. With her in front, Riley in the middle, and Eryn bringing up the rear, the remaining members of Team PEAR slowly advanced through the ruined city.</p>
<p>"Oh wow.. <em>Dust</em>, look at that!" Eryn said with a gasp, pointing up to the sky. Above them and in the distance, the Atlesian dreadnought belonging to General James Ironwood was sinking. Flames erupted from its surface in bursts as Nevermores circled the metallic carcass. If she squinted, Parker thought she could just make out a red blur departing from the bow, but she couldn't be sure.</p>
<p>"Don't stare - keep moving. Mausoleum's this way." Parker ordered, panting slightly. Though she was as fit as any well-trained huntress was, moving and fighting for a little over two hours at that point meant that even with her excellent physical fitness, she was tiring.</p>
<p>"You okay, Parks?" Eryn asked, concerned, but Parker waved it away.</p>
<p>"I'll be fine.. Just need to get out of here." She continued gruffly, and got nods in response from Eryn and Riley.</p>
<p>The ground shook heavily as the dreadnought crashed into the ground, a great gout of flame signalling its final demise. Though they couldn't have known, that moment also signalled the end of the Atlesian robots marching through the streets. What they <em>did</em> notice, though, was that soon after the crash, they began to run into fewer and fewer members of the White Fang - unfortunately, that seemed to be the result of renewed aggression on the part of the Grimm.</p>
<p>"What the hell is that thing?!" Parker heard Riley yell, and grimaced as she was forced to stop again and look to the sky. Her jaw dropped at the sight, and Parker was glad that her teammate got her attention. "Is that a <strong>dragon?</strong>"</p>
<p>"I.. I have no idea." Parker said, raising her rifle to fire into an Ursa who took notice of them. "What I <em>do</em> know is it's not coming this way, and it's not our problem. Come on, we have to push through. Three blocks, guys."</p>
<p>"I had only ever heard stories of them.." "<em>Now</em>, Eryn!" "On it!" Parker and Eryn shot back and forth, before Parker led them off again, muscles burning and protesting her every move. The rest of their journey to the Vale Mausoleum was marked by caution, knowing that ammunition and arrow conservation was critical. After a fairly gruelling twenty minutes longer, Parker got her team to a checkpoint consisting of several wounded students, a lot more scared civilians, and a few of the professors that they'd known at Beacon and Signal.</p>
<p>"Has anyone seen my sister?" Parker called out, panting and wiping the sweat from her brow, while Eryn and Riley practically collapsed against the outside stone walls of the building. "She.. Well, she looks exactly like me." The girl explained, and frowned at the blank stares she got in return.</p>
<p>"One more, coming in!" Came a shout from the hastily constructed barricade. As Parker turned to look at who would be brave - or dumb - enough to try and make it their alone, her heart both sang and plummeted. For lack of a better word, Piper looked like absolute shit. Cuts and burns decorated her forearms, neck, and face. Her jacket and pants had a hundred little cuts and rips in them, and she was limping pretty heavily. Still though, Parker saw her sister's face light up when their eyes met.</p>
<p>"Parker!" "Piper!" They said with the purest relief, embracing tightly. For a few blissful moments, each sister thought that maybe everything would be just fine. Maybe it was all a dream. But, then they separated and the bleakness of their situation was clear once more.</p>
<p>"Corbin?" Parker asked hesitantly, and grimaced when Piper shook her head.</p>
<p>"Arcin?" Piper asked in return, and let her shoulders sag as she got an identical head shake.</p>
<p>Neither twin bothered apologizing, knowing that the words were hollow and barren. The dead were gone, and could be mourned later. "What the hell?" Eryn said, looking once more to the city skyline. A burst of near-blinding white light shone out from the top of the Beacon Academy tower, where the Grimm Wyvern now sat perched.</p>
<p>"Okay.. Everyone, inside! There are tunnels that lead down into the catacombs." Parker, Piper, Eryn, and Riley heard one of the professors call out. "Come on, let's move!" Came the authoritative voice, that they all recognized as Professor Ash. Moving forwards, the survivors saw the professor was clad in her trademark 'borrowed' military gear.</p>
<p>"Quit whining! The tunnels are secure, and we're not far from Signal. When things quiet down, we'll be able to move there." She instructed, looking over the sorry state of those passing by her. The raven-haired woman spared a look of sorrow and sympathy as she noted the missing members from Teams PEAR and CLPO, but kept ushering them forwards into relative safety.</p>
<p>"What happens now?" Eryn wondered aloud. Riley shrugged, and pulled a small succulent from one of the pockets underneath her armor. With a deep breath, the aura infused in the plant activated to cause the little thing to glow brightly.</p>
<p>"We regroup. We fight back." Piper said solemnly, and the other three turned to her. "What? It's not like we have another choice." She pointed out.</p>
<p>"Pi's right. We need a game plan, but we can't stay here forever. I can't imagine we have a lot of food with us - and I know we're all running pretty low on ammo." Eryn sighed, and jerked forwards a little bit when Piper jabbed her between the shoulders a bit.</p>
<p>"Please don't call me that." Piper asked hoarsely. She didn't yet have the words to express her sadness and grief, but the nickname that she'd once not minded she couldn't bear to hear - being the last thing Corbin had called her before he passed.</p>
<p>"Y-yeah, sure. Sorry.." Eryn murmured, furrowing her brow in mild confusion. Piper just shook her head, though, and kept walking. No one really noticed or cared how much time had passed since they delved underground, but eventually they came upon a decently spacious crypt. It was creepy as all hell to everyone there, but it sure beat trying to survive up top.</p>
<p>"Home sweet home." Parker murmured, shivering a little at the chill in the dead air. "Better make the best of it, I guess."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A/N: So, here we are! Chapter one of hopefully many, many more. Not a lot to say here since I hopefully covered it all in the Dramatis Personae - but I very much look forward to continuing this story as I keep working at it. Posts will be slower, I think, than Clipped Wings, so please be patient</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>